Why do Korean girls always scream at the sight of this little guy's super cute face?!!! I think they're starting to give Mi Nam a complex!

It's a battle for my attention here and I don't think Mi Nam wants to lose... hehehe.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 30

1. Introduced Seo to the wonderful world of the tak galbi restaurant here in Cheonan… hehehe. I’ve been going to this restaurant for about a year and a half now and the lady here has met so many of my friends. She’s even met my coach. Today she met my boyfriend.

2. With Seo in Cheonan for the weekend, I’ve definitely swerved away from my diet, but didn’t totally kill it. I had ordered grapefruit juice the other day when we went to Coffee Bean but it was hard sitting there taking in all the beautiful tempting smells of everyone else’s coffee around me. Today I broke down and ordered a white chocolate dream latte… and I loved it! Hehehe.

3. Turns out Coffee Bean is quite the hangout for my coworkers. Yesterday Seo and I ran into Fiona and Carmen here, today we saw Ki Dong, Sean and one of the assistants (ahhh… I can’t remember her name). Seo and I are quite the PDA couple and so when I turned around and saw Ki Dong starring right back at me, I instantly blushed. Did he see me kiss Seo in public?! In Canada we could care less about that but this is DEFINITELY not Canada… hehehe. Anyways, we knew they spotted us and so we went over to say hi. Caught in the act, holy awkward moment… hehehe.

4. Gotta love Korean taxi drivers who turn an average road into an Indy 500 race!!! Today we raced, literally, to the KTX station. We arrived with 2 minutes until his train were to leave. I always hate good-byes and I’m not good at them. Seo changed his ticket and so it meant I got an extra hour to work on my good-bye.

5. After Seo left, I headed towards the taxi stand. In front of me stood a newly wed couple who had obviously just come from their wedding. The bride’s hair shimmered with glitter and the groom’s tux had the glitter all on the shoulder. They beamed with happiness and so I congratulated them on their wedding. I know Koreans aren’t very affectionate in public but wow, looks like Seo and I aren’t the only PDA couple. These two love birds couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He kept on trying to kiss her forehead and she kept on snuggling up to him.

6. When their taxi drove away, I could see them kissing in the back seat. A bunch of us in the taxi line clapped and waved to them as they drove away. I thought it kind of funny though cause none of us in line knew the couple and yet we all were “infected” with their happiness.

7. Arrived home to a super sad email from one of my students. Apparently he’s missed the last 2 classes cause his father died. Now, I personally don’t think someone would joke about this in order to get out of being marked absent from class but, according to Dankook rules, I have to ask him for some kind of notice to make sure his story is legate. This doesn’t sit well with me though and so now I’m put in the uncomfortable position of having to ask him to prove that his father died.

8. Mi Nam continues to be a big hit with the boys of Cheonan… wow. I really wish the Korean girls here didn’t scream at him though. Tonight when I took Mi Nam for a walk I counted 6 girls who freaked out and hid behind guys when Mi Nam walked by. Personally I can’t stand their “damsel in distress” behaviour but notice that those who pulled this move were walking with cute guys… so… I guess I can’t really blame them. Hehehe…

9. Much thanks to the Kimbab Chunkuk lady who spoiled Mi Nam with loads of free ham… hehehe. Thanks to the club boys standing out Club Sizi who spoiled Mi Nam with loads of attention… hehehe. And thanks to the local store man who spoiled Mi Nam with free cheese. Wow… Mi Nam is quite the celebrity here in Cheonan… hehehe. I wish I got free ham and free cheese… and loads of attention from random people. Those club boys totally were lovin’ Mi Nam!!!

10. Sunday night is always work night for me and so I spent about an hour or so responding to student emails and then typing up my Power Point lesson for the week. I love student emails… they’re so cute. Making my Power Point lesson, on the other hand, always makes me kind of sad though. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching and stepping into the classroom is always awesome but I tend to procrastinate and leave my lesson planning till late, late S unday night. I guess it makes me kind of sad cause it reminds me of my university days, back when I use to pull all-nighters on essays and research papers while my friends were out partying or enjoying the nightlife. In my university days I was quite the studious student. I worked full-time bartending on the weekends and then busted my butt off during the week. It’s kind of ironic to think that I busted my butt so much in school only to now work at a school… I feel like a professional student, studying my students’ course work so that I can teach it… hehehe.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
For love or for money?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
-- Chinese Proverb

Apparently Yoon Jib's body is just as tired as mine but, unlike me, he's doing something about it.

My students at the university all know I love boxing. Today one of them emailed me this picture and wrote that this will be me on Friday.... thanks for the encouragement but I'm hoping that I'll be fighting WITH a shirt on... hehehe.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 29

1. Recovered from last night’s drama… with style and in time for lunch. Sometimes I’m such a “girl”… I know. Cooked Seo my notorious “chicken delight”, but apparently not enough. He ate it up, all up and was still hungry.

2. With Seo past out on my couch, I raced off to boxing. Usually on Saturdays Junior Mint opens the gym but doesn’t train anyone… it’s “free train” time as I call it. However, with my fight being this Friday (that is if I can figure out what the heck to do with my Friday classes), he wants to keep the pressure on me and so he trained me today. Today I had a bad day at training though… I just felt so slow. My punches felt slow, my reaction time was off, and I was just getting frustrated. Lately I haven’t been sleeping well and so my body is tired. I go to bed, my body is exhausted but my mind is working on overload, thinking way too much about my fight.

3. As if I needed any more pressure, today I found out that everyone’s counting on me to win on Friday cause the club has ONLY ONE professional female boxer, Min Young. Handsome Boy (my Ex’s look-alike twin who we all at the gym now call Handsome Boy) was at training today and he told me this. Junior Mint and Milk Dud confirmed his statement. Great… stress. On Friday Handsome Boy and two other male boxers at my club will be traveling to Seoul with Junior Mint and I. We’ll all be fighting.

4. Got my new mouth guard made today and burnt the top of my mouth in making it… ouch. Now I got to relearn how to breath… I mean, I know how to breath but breathing through my nose while exercising. It sounds simple but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Try it… stick a massive piece of plastic in your mouth and then do some cardio… not fun.

5. On Thursday I plan on getting She Ann to braid my hair… cool! My hair is too short to stay in a ponytail without hair clips and I’m not allowed to wear any clips cause they’re metal. So, with my red mouth guard and gangster girl hair, I’m hoping I’ll intimidate the heck out of my apponent. My strategy is to look mean, show no fear and play extra aggressive and with anger. Junior Mint told me that he doesn’t plan on taking home a loser, so if I lose, I’ll have to walk home to Cheonan… yikes.

6. Returned home to find my two favourite Koreans curled up on my couch together… Seo and Mi Nam. Ahhh… so cute, they’ve bonded. Hehehe…

7. One of my former coworkers from Eumbong Middle School, Mr. Jo, called me up the other day asking for my help. His sister has to hand in a research paper on Korean culture (25 pages!!!), written in English, and was in desperate need of someone to edit it… voila, me. Mr. Jo swung by my house today to give it to me. We sat at Coffee Bean sipping on coffee and catching up on what’s new with each other. He said everyone at Eumbong missed me… I miss them too, a lot.

8. Saturday night movie date with my dangerously delicious man… hehehe. Today marks our official one-week couple anniversary... hehehe. After stuffing our faces at Mainz (for the 2nd night in a row, which is sure to kill my diet) and then grabbing coffee, we got suckered into buying the large pop and large popcorn… wow, advertising does work… hehehe. We watched “Bourne Ultimatum”

9. At the theatre we ran into some of my university students, 3 girls. Seo and I walked out of the elevator and they were right there. They were so super giddy when they saw me arm-in-arm with Seo. With the exception of a few students that email me, all they really know about me outside of school is that I have a dog named Mi Nam and I am a boxer obsessed with eating chicken… hehehe. Them learning that I have a boyfriend apparently was interesting for them… them learning that my boyfriend is Korean was exciting. I SO know I’m going to be bombarded with questions in class from them and their classmates.

10. I had planned to take Seo to one of my favourite spots in Cheonan tonight… a mountain top in Ssangyong-Dong where you can see the whole city of Cheonan and all it’s lights. It had rained though today and so, instead, we hung out at on my building’s roof.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why are girls so emotional?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
-- Author Unknown

He's dangerously delicious... and he's mine ;)

Isn't my boyfriend so beautiful?!... he sure is!!!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, September 28

1. Wow… I’ve got my morning routine down to an art! Hehehe… Total time required for me to shower, dress, and get to school with enough time to grab a morning tea = 30 minutes. Sweet!

2. I love my Friday morning class… they’re awesome. They all filed in sleepy-eyed but smiley. They’re so cute. In my this particular class, there’s about 3-4 students who regularly email me a couple of times a week. I love getting student emails cause seeing them once a week doesn’t really enable me to really know them and so getting emails from them has really helped over come this. Mind ya, those students who email me, tend to be super shy in class time.

3. After my first class, which I totally love, then came all the dance students. Last week’s class with them was brutally disappointing and so before I started anything with them today, I set the record straight. When they were all sitting I stood up and said right from the start that I will NOT tolerate rude manners and those who display such manners WILL BE counted as absent on my attendance list.

4. Huge high fives to those two dance students who made the conscious choice to turn a new leaf and try in my class. I was SO happy when the one volunteered to answer my question and so I smothered her with encouragement and smiles. The other two girls however, from last week’s naughty group of 4 girls, we just as rude as last week. That’s ok… 2 down, 2 to go.

5. Met up with Byung Hyuk after class. We sat outside the school library chatting and giggling uncontrollably. He’s hilarious. My voice has been shot all day and so he tried to convince me to use text messaging… hehehe. Byung Hyuk’s word of the day: “nipples”… this came about after he tried to tell me some barbaric story in which he called his nipples “chest peanuts”… hehehe.

6. I was on quite the time limit today cause of Seo coming in from Busan and so I raced off to training. I busted my butt TOTALLY at training and just when I thought I didn’t have an ounce of energy left or another minute to spare, Junior Mint called me into the ring. He told me I had to fight Milk Dud for 3 rounds… that’s 6 minutes, sounds easy enough, right?! Wrong. I had already just spent over an hour training. So we fought… and I have a bit of a black eye to prove it… oh gosh.

7. No sooner had I got home but then I was back out the door again… on route to go pick up Seo!!! We headed out for dinner and then after which headed over to Khan. The Khan Hyun Bin has NOTHING on my Seo! Hanna showed up 40 minutes late which is way beyond fashionably late. That was when my night started to go sour. I don't want to write about it though cause I ended up getting all upset on Friday... upset about Hanna and then upset with Seo because of Hanna... ahhhh. I think my lack of sleep, retarded training schedule and super strict diet has sent me into an emotional mindframe similar to that of a pregnant woman who's been deprived her recent craving... dang!

8. Little did we all know but while we were out and about downtown, quite the situation was occurring at Mbar. We (Hanna, Seo and I) showed up after it all had finished but from what Jae Min told me, some drunk Korean dudes decided to attack Jae Min’s sister (she’s the Mbar manager/owner). The guys were taken away by police and so when we showed up the only evidence of the fight was a cleared out bar and blood splattered on the floor…. Wow.

9. Tonight Seo and I were that couple kissing in public… turning heads in public… and causing people to say, “Oh please, get a room”… and I loved it. For once it’s nice to be that girl that I as a single girl once envied. Seo’s dangerously delicious and I’m perfectly happy letting him kiss me in public… it’s only natural, when two people really like each other, that’s bound to happen… “PDA” as I call it; public displays of affection.

10. Seo passed the test… the Mi Nam test that is… hehehe. Despite him calling Mi Nam ugly, within a couple of minutes, Mi Nam was licking Seo and all over him like white on rice… hehehe.

QUESTION OF THE DAY..
Where did your manners go?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I have long since come to believe that people never mean half of what they say, and that it is best to disregard their talk and judge only their actions.
-- Dorothy Day

I gotta get Yoo Seph into some Adidas wear.... none of this Kappa stuff!!!

Don't be deceived by Ge Tae's small figure, this dude is packing some mad abs and pure muscle under his shirt.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 27

1. I cried over spilt milk… such a cliché thing to do, eh?! Well, it’s not the milk that I really cried over. I mean, yes I did drop a cup and cause myself and the floor to be drowned in milk, but the milk wasn’t the issue. The issue is my boxing test on Friday, October 5th.

2. At 5am this morning I was still up. I had been sitting on my couch thinking of a million and one things concerning my boxing match/test…. Everything from what key punches I should use to how the heck I’m going to keep my short hair out of my face. I tried to go to bed at 5am but after tossing and turning in my bed, I figured I should just get up and start my day. And then it hit me… the thought that both us girls competing are doing so because we both think we’ll win over the other. She wouldn’t be fighting me if she didn’t have the thought and team believing in her. And thinking this, thinking that out there there’s some girl training to kill me (not literally, of course) in the ring really hit home.

3. That thought alone was enough to send me in high gear and out the door heading to the gym. Newbie was super surprised to see me at the gym at 7am… so was I. I am by no means a morning person unless it’s my birthday or you’re offering a super delicious homemade Western breakfast.

4. Turns out my coworker, Amy, had the same desire to train early in the morning. Amy’s a pretty buff gal who’s quite tall and very pretty. Newbie joked around about the situation and says he’s convinced all girls from Canada are pretty, built like tanks and are called Amy… I take that as a compliment, for sure. Between Amy and I, we definitely were packing more muscle the men today… hehehe.

5. Work was work… always fun. In my second class of the day there’s a whole crew of my last semester students and so it’s awesome to be teaching them again. They were my pro-stars today for the listen and repeat activity in which I had created a silly dialogue between a snobbish picky eater and a super impatient water. The activity focused on intonation and so it was so hilarious to hear various students interpret the conversation differently.

6. My new favourite quote to sarcastically say in class that always makes them laugh, “Come on.. IQ upgrade please. Sank-you!” … they love it!

7. As if I wasn’t stressed enough and over exerting myself with training as it is, tonight Junior Mint informed me that I’ll have to miss work next Friday because I’m required to be in Seoul all day. Apparently they’re going to take my weight and due various formalities before my fight in the late afternoon. Junior Mint says I have to leave for Seoul at 7am… problem though, I have class from 9:20am to 1pm.

8. And with news that I might not be able to fight, my throat became all choked up. I can’t miss this fight… this is my one chance to prove myself. I remember watching Min Young’s fight. When she lost, the look on Junior Mint’s face looked as if it was he that had lost the fight. I will not make him feel like that. Junior Mint has put so much incredible effort, time and total dedication in training me. Even when I was in Busan he texted my phone and checked up on me. Sometimes I’m convinced he believes in me more than I believe in myself.

9. Trained extra hard tonight. Tonight we focused on my right upper cut and hooks. I love the right hook… that’s going to be my signature move.

10. After training I was totally exhausted… physically and mentally. As Milk Dud and I entered Sambu, there stood Hanna. I’m not one to be upset in front of people, nor am I one that deals with being upset alone and so having Milk Dud and now Hanna there was exactly what I needed. Later on I called Ki Dong and asked him to help me out with figuring out what to do with work, after which Jae Sung called me and then I talked to Seo on msn. I know things are pretty stressful for me right now and I know it’s mostly my doing but you know what, with friends that I have here, I know I'll be ok... but I want more. I want to be excellent.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is it all it's cracked up to be?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
-- Author Unknown.

Happy Chusok to YOU!!!

Happy Chusok to Mi Nam and me!!!

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, September 26

1. Happy Chusok everyone! To those who don’t know, Chusok is the Korean Thanksgiving and it’s probably the biggest holiday here in Korea… numerous stores and restaurants are closed, highways are jammed with people traveling to their relatives, and this week I don’t have to work till Thursday… sweet. The Solar New Year is the second biggest holiday here.

2. With almost all of my friends out of the city for the holiday, I was stuck entertaining myself here in Cheonan. So, on that note, I decided to go for a walk and see just what was open and what was closed. Turns out the mall was open, numerous shops weren’t, but Kimbab Chunkuk was open and so I headed there for lunch.

3. Apparently having a boyfriend gets me more than just kisses and sweet talk… today it scored me a free lunch at Kimbab Chunkuk. You see, the manager there has known me for well over 2 years now. She first met me when I was “Ryan and Me” and so from the start she was always curious about me… a western gal dating a Korean hottie. Since my long ago break-up with Byung Ryang (Ryan), I eat alone at Kimbab Chunkuk. Sometimes Hanna joins me and once or twice others have joined me but, for the most part, I sit in my usual corner seat as the solo girl. Occasionally the manager questions me about whether or not I have a boyfriend. Today I told her I had a new boyfriend and she got all excited. My happy news caused a huge smile to grace her face, a hug and got me a free meal… sweet!

4. Walked past that dude who sold me my cheap brown boots (which I love but nonetheless will admit that the quality isn’t the best). He smiled at me and motioned for me to come in his shop but I kept on walking. I am by no means interested in dealing with his flirtatious comments today.

5. Late in the evening I decided to finally have dinner and so I took Mi Nam with me to Kimbab Chunkuk to get take-out. I decided to take the side roads, to avoid the cars and people but on our way there some dude in a car stopped to ask me directions… in English. He asked me where the train station was and well, I live downtown and the KTX train station is all the way across town. In trying to give him directions, he then interrupted me to ask me where I was going, my age, my name, and then he asked me about a hotel... I knew what he was suggesting.

6. My response to the man in car: “Oh… I know YOUR name. Your name is Byun Tae (= pervert in Korean)”, and with that I kicked his car as hard as I could. Apparently the man at the corner store who knows me (and who’s about 50) watched the whole thing go down and so when he heard me scream out “Byun Tae” (pervert) he can racing over. The car sped away and the old man chased the car. The car got away but the man returned and was all concerned about me. I was more concerned that he almost killed himself running like that!!!

7. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, while waiting outside Kimbab Chunkuk with Mi Nam, waiting for my take-out food, some drunk old man approached me, muttered something to me in Korean and then tried to scare Mi Nam with his bad impression of an angry dog. I was absolutely in no mood to deal with another rude dude and so I tugged at Mi Nam’s leash and yelled out, “Kill… Mi Nam kill!” Not too sure whether or not the man understood but the students in the restaurant did. They all laughed while the old man and I exchanged dirty looks.

8. Returned home all ticked off and a bit shaken. I love Korea but I really don’t like stupid people. There should be some kind of law against stupid people. Maybe we should just put muzzles on them or something… so that they don’t spread their stupidity.

9. Finally got down to work tonight around 10pm. I am the queen of procrastination!

10. Hero of the night: Seo!!! He surprised me tonight by telling me that he’s coming to visit me this weekend… wow, cool! His news just totally made my night... actually, my week!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is anyone else having problems with Blogger or is it just me?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Stupid people should just be shot.
-- friend from highschool

Ok, so I admit it's a pretty massive watermelon, but for 350,000 won ($350 CDN) it better have gold nuggets in the middle for me to buy it!

My student Nam Woong and his girlfriend.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 25

1. Last night I wasn’t feeling too well. My throat was still hurting from the other night’s cheap bar peanuts (which I’m convinced must have had pee on them cause how else would you get sick off peanuts?!) and so I decided to pop a Vicks Nightquil gel tab. I really don’t like take medicine not cause I’m a baby, cause I’m not, but because I think that for the most part there’s nothing a good night’s sleep and time can’t cure. Plus, popping pills left, right, and center will only make my body more immune to its’ effects.

2. I figure the one tablet would do me but I decided to take two and with that, I was out like a light faster than my I could count my 100th sheep in my head.

3. With lots of things to do today but absolutely no motivation to do anything, I decided to go back to sleep. I love lying in bed with Mi Nam all cuddled up beside my head. I missed him this past weekend… especially his snoring… and evening him chewing on my hair. I didn’t miss his bongu bum though!

4. Finally around 5pm I figured I had been a bum long enough today and so I rolled out of bed… or, I guess I should say “rolled off my floor mat”.

5. The other day, actually it was last Thursday to be exact, I got stuck in my apartment’s elevator. Initially I tried the elevator’s emergency phone and tried to pry the doors open by hand, but when that didn’t work I texted a few people. What ended up saving me was myself and my MacGyver skills. Today however, one of my friends finally responded to my message for help… nice.

6. It feels good to be back in Cheonan but I do miss Seo. I had had an overdose of Seo this past weekend and so I was feeling withdrawals today… mmmmust… have… Sssseeeeooo! Hehehe…

7. Got an email from one of my Friday students at Dankook. He emails me once or twice a week and usually writes about his girlfriend and my class. I doubt his girlfriend knows just how kind he is with his words about her… wow. He really adores his girlfriend. Anyway, today he emailed me about his hometown, Gwang-Ju. Apparently Gwang-Ju is famous for it’s watermelon… apparently which you have to be filthy rich or just retarded to buy. The watermelon goes for about $350 CDN in the stores… ouch!!!

8. For supper I thought I’d treat myself to a big bowl of Kraft macaroni and cheese… courtesy of Jenn! I figure I had killed my diet enough this past weekend and so one more day really didn’t matter at this point. Yes, I ate mostly chicken this weekend but there was a lot of added sauce and other goodies on my plate.

9. Instead of going out tonight or doing anything really productive, I stayed home, curled up on the couch with Mi Nam and watched “Sex and the City”.

10. Correction, I did one thing productive tonight… got into an arguement with Yanky. He had a lot of questions about Seo which I really didn't think was any of his business but which only served to make me feel all that more grateful for Seo. I have a really good feeling about Seo and I... I'm not going to jinx it by saying that this time it's going to be different but it already has been so different. For starters, Seo and I met before we actually met in person and so we didn't have any kind of physical tension or whatnot to deal with. It gave us the chance to really get to know each other before we met in person. Actually, Friday was the first time we met in person.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who would possibly buy a $350 watermelon?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
-- Voltaire

Korea's newest couple: Seo and me.

PDA... I love it!!!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, September 24

1. Today I left Busan but before I had to leave I got to have one last day with Seo. I tried to remember what one of my friends had told me, “Enjoy the moment for what it’s worth and don’t think about what the next moment holds”. And so that I did. It was hard not to count down the hours though.

2. Was a bit sick today… plugged nose and sore throat. Seo and I blame it on those overly addicting peanuts I ate the other night at the club… hehehe

3. Although I had stayed in Busan since Friday, my time here seemed too short. As they say, time flies when you’re having fun, and well, that it did. Seo took me to the KTX station and kissed me right in front of everyone… in front of an overly crowded station, the workers, passengers… and apparently in front of his friend too! Yup… he’s PDA Man… hehehe.

4. Entertained myself on the long train ride home by text messaging Hat Boy (the guy who stole my phone a few weeks ago). I know it’s rather strange that I text message some random dude who I’ve only met once, but, he’s nice to me and I use the sentences he texts me as means of studying Korean.

5. I was sad having to leave Busan but I knew I’d be arriving home to a super hyper Mi Nam. Mi Nam must miss me so much and knowing this made me feel so awesome. I remember when I returned home from my visit to Canada in February. Mi Nam was so happy that he couldn’t contain himself… he peed on my pants!

6. Sure enough, when I returned home Mi Nam couldn’t stop jumping on me and he tried so eagerly to lick me… hehehe. I gave in and let him smoother my face with kisses. I missed him too. He only peed a little on my pants though. It was kind of gross but I thought it awesome that he missed me so much.

7. Unfortunately because of changed plans, no one was able to look after Mi Nam today and so he had a hard day. I took him outside to pee and wow…. He must have peed for 3 minutes straight!!!

8. Nasty… Mi Nam is the Anaconda King (number #2)…. yuck!!!

9. Milk Dud stopped by my house, eager to ask a million and one questions about what all went down in Busan. He wanted to know all the juicy details. Mind ya, I’m not one to spill my beans and so I just giggled and smiled at his questions. Hehehe….

10. I miss Seo.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
When will I see you again?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Respect yourself and others will respect you.
-- Confucius

Wow... looks delicious... the guy I mean. Oh, and the food too ;)

Super cool key pad... it's rubber!

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 23

1. Well despite not getting into the gym to train, I have however been maintaining my chicken diet. I’ve eaten so much chicken since I came to Busan. Chicken for lunch… chicken for dinner… just how I like it, hehehe.

2. It was drizzling today and I loved it. Rainy days just seem slower… like a Saturday. Everyone seems more relaxed and the air has a sense of coziness to it.

3. Checked out this posh coffee shop that had computers on each table. Holy techno.. I love it! The keyboard pad for the computer at our table was rubber… it was so cool.

4. Seo is Mr. PDA Man… wow! Mind ya, I am definitely not complaining… hehehe.

5. Spent most of the day lounging around the house, window shopping and just simply chatting. It seems like no matter what we do, or if we do anything at all, that we are having fun. We really click.

6. Gotta love a man who can really sing… wow! Seo loves singing and so we dropped by a games room and he belted out a few tunes in the mini norrah bang. The first song he sung was Korean. I had no idea what he was singing about but it sounded so sweet. Boy can that guy sing!!!

7. Headed over to the movie theatre to watch “Invasion”, starring Nicole Kidman.

8. With Chusok (Korean Thanksgiving) being only a couple of days away, today my phone was going crazy with all the text messages. It seemed like everyone was sending me messages at once…. Former students, coworkers, friends.

9. Because it was my last night here, we opted out of doing anything too crazy like club hopping and instead went for a sweet walk to his university. We sat on campus sipping coffee and regardless of the mosquitoes attacking my bare legs, it was very romantic.

10. Currently Seo is a university student eagerly trying to get a job in Seoul. Busan is so far from Cheonan… it’s a 5 hour bus ride or a 2 hour KTX train ride, but the way I look at it is that if he lived in Cheonan I’d get nothing done!!! Seriously,… I know it… he knows it. After all, I just spent the whole weekend literally attached to his side and, as awesome as it was, I know that he’d be such a tempting distraction to me if he lived in Cheonan. He’s “dangerously delicious” (…hehehe). I really hope he moves to Seoul though cause my trip to Busan this weekend cost about $100 in transportation ($72 KTX, $20 taxi) and so it’d be too expensive to visit him every weekend. A round trip to Seoul however would only cost me $10 and would only take about an hour. I’m not hard up for cash by any means but it all adds up quickly, plus there’s the fact that I have to pay someone to babysit baby Mi Nam.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...

Do you think you have a high IQ?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...

I think you're killing the song.

-- Me (... hehehe)

Today everything changed.

Talk about about a picture perfect scene... a good-looking man and the beach.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 22

1. Am convinced Seo’s house is cursed… hehehe. Every time we step into it, we’re drown into it’s spell and thus are forced to lounge around…. Hehehe.

2. I’ve only been wearing my new boots for two days now but today the heel broke off. For $30 CDN I knew I couldn’t expect high end, durable boots and so Seo and I searched around for a shoe fixer.

3. With super ghetto sandals and my socks pulled up to my knees, we headed to the beach while the shoe man fixed my boots. Seo is so much fun and we just totally click… how else can you explain why even looking for a shoe man turns into fun… hehehe.

4. Returned home and I spent an hour or so emailing my students. I make it my weekly chore, to email my lecture notes (Power Point file) to my students and so tonight I had to do it. See, even when I’m away from work I’m still working.

5. Later on in the evening Seo and I returned to the beach. We sat there all cozy in the sand. Had we not been interrupted by the massive wind blowing the sand all around, it would have totally been romantic. None the less, it was really nice sitting there. It wasn’t so nice eating all that sand though… hehehe.

6. It’s official, I’ve retired as Captain of the Singles Club and am now proudly, “Seo’s girl”.

7. More text messages from my fellow Cheonanites… hehehe. Milk Dud is convinced looking after Mi Nam is one step easier than brain surgery and Junior Mint is convinced I’m going to be kidnapped by a Busan boy… oh please, I wish… hehehe.

8. We thought we’d check out the clubs and so we headed back towards Seo’s area and went out. The first club we went to was packed full of foreigners, definitely not my scene. The second place made us sign their V.I.P. list and so under “job” I wrote boxer… hehehe. Come October 5th I’m going to always use that!!! The third club we went to was a super smoky club with not a foreigner in sigh except for me… and so it was perfect!

9. Seo pulled out all his moves on the dance floor and so I was left giggling the night away. We definitely were the envy of the club cause, well, Seo is quite the “PDA Man”… PDA standing for “Public Signs of Affection”… hehehe. He’s definitely not your average Korean man!

10. Finally around 3 in the morning we left the club only to linger around outside for a bit. Had late night street food that tasted oh so good and then we called it a night. And wow.. what a night it was. It was perfect!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...

Could it possibly get any better?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
-- Abraham Lincoln

I've started a new chapter in my life,... and it's awesome.

Kisses from Seo... kisses for Seo.

Highlights of my Day.. Friday, September 21

1. Ah my dance students… they’re definitely a cute bunch of students but definitely an “interesting” bunch. Today after trying to ignore what I would like to refer to as “sewer manners”, I finally stopped the class and gave them a hard lecture about manners in my class. Now I don’t consider myself to be a harsh or strict teacher but given the behaviour of 4 of the girls in my class, I know for a fact any other teacher would have kicked them out of class.

2. So there I stood, blood pressure boiling, voice all shaky… lecturing them. I was disgusted with the 4 girls’ manners and they knew it. They all knew it.

3. Ended class a bit early so that some of my students and I could catch the KTX train. It had already been a bit of a rough day and so my trip to Busan was much needed. I arrived at the KTX station with 2 minutes to spare…. Wow.

4. The train ride down to Busan took a little over 2 hours, mind ya, the train travels at 300km/hr and so it’s super fast. I thought I’d do my school work on the train but no sooner did I turn on my laptop but it died. Ended up being interrupted by this young man who decided he’d sit beside me. We chatted for about an hour and I found out he was a single parent of two girls… and has a particular interest in Western women,…. Hmm.

5. I had waited all week with such anticipation for this trip… this meeting. Seo and I have talked for quite some time now and so it had all built this day up to something so grand. I was super nervous that our expectations had hyped it up too high and that us meeting wouldn’t be a grandiose as expected.

6. Finally we met. He had joked around saying that he’d kiss me at the station but instead we just hugged; that made me nervous. We took the subway to his house and so it gave a chance to joke around and talk. Wow… he smelt soooo good!

7. Seo kissed me…. I kissed him back… ;)


8. I hadn’t been away from Cheonan for more than a couple of hours and already Cheonanites were hunting me down on my phone. Junior Mint sent me about a million and one text messages, telling me to beware of Busan boys. Hannah was curious about what I was doing and Milk Dud was already having problems with Mi Nam… oh gosh. Milk Dud phoned to ask me what he should do with the blanket Mi Nam “watered” (peed on.. hehehe). The one phone call was cute but he called three times to ask for advice on how to look after Mi Nam. I tried not to laugh but Mi Nam is a dog… it’s not brain surgery there dude.

9. I’ve been to Busan before but this time it felt different. Busan is packed to the brim with people like Seoul is but it has that kind of small-town mentality towards foreigners that Cheonan has despite it having a rather large foreign population. After like the billionth person starring at I lost count. They seemed so fascinated to see me, a white woman, holding hands with Seo, a Korean man.

10. We headed out to this restaurant for some chicken.. I love chicken! The chicken was drowned in this super delicious spicy sauce. Later, Seo took me on a nice walk around his university and so we sat down, enjoyed some coffee and each other’s company. It was a very sweet way to end the evening.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What defines a couple?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command.
-- Alan Watts

What determination, self-discipline and hardwork will get you... muscle, talent and some pretty impressive trophies. Here's my coach with it all.

Good job Yo Seph... one day you're going to make one fine wife... hehehe.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 20

1. As my school day came to an end, I ran into Beautiful P… who’s “Beautiful P”? you ask, good question. He only happens to be the most beautiful student at my school and he’s in my class. I mentioned him the other day. Today I ran into him as I sat outside talking with Byung Hyuk.

2. Treated Byung Hyuk to dinner at the Tak Galbi restaurant. Oddly enough our conversation centred on Pretty Boy and some very “touchy” issues… hehehe. Now, I admit it, I take FULL responsibility for the totally inappropriate words I taught him at the dinner table but I figured someone had to correct his English and get him up to date with some current slang… oh gosh.

3. Funniest line of the day was said by Byung Hyuk, “I lure the women to touch my bosom and hip”…. Hehehe. Byung Hyuk is so funny! I tried to inform him that women have a bosom, men have a chest and that what he’s referring to as “hip” is actually called a bum… hehehe.

4. Byung Hyuk’s new nickname has been officially changed to Skinship Master… hehehe.

5. At Hongik tonight the gym was almost empty. I guess with Chusok quickly approaching, people are busy planning for the holiday or are already traveling.

6. I haven’t even left Cheonan yet and Milk Dud is asking me a million and one questions about Mi Nam. He’s suppose to look after my baby Mi Nam while I’m in Busan for the weekend but his random and strange questions are being to make me nervous for Mi Nam… hehehe. I tried to convince him that Mi Nam is a relatively low-maintenance dog. You just have to give him food and take him out so he can do his “duty”… he’s just that simple. However, Milk Dud is freaking out and has turned this relatively easy task into something similar to brain surgery… so difficult!

7. Trained late tonight at boxing and then sat around getting lectured by Junior Mint about being careful around Busan boys. He seems to have this impression that I’m going to go to Busan and be corrupted or something… hehehe. Junior Mint thinks Busan boys are dangerous whereas Milk Dud says all guys are wolves… hehehe.

8. Just think, this time in two weeks I’ll be flooded with anticipation and anxiety as if I were 5 again on Christmas Eve. I want this so bad… I want to go pro. Everyday at training I always glance at the various trophies on the side shelf and the numerous pictures and posters of professional boxers. Some day I will join them.

9. While packing for my trip to Busan tomorrow, I realized just how much of a girl I am when I had to sit on my bag just to close it… yikes! I know I packed way too much.

10. Mi Nam may not be the brightest bulb in the pack but he’s definitely not the dullest either. He knows something is up. He sat there watching me pack and then he refused to eat his food. He wouldn’t eat his food… or tuna… or even a bowl of treats. Nothing.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
If men are wolves, what does that make us women?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice that which we are for what we could become.
-- Charles DuBois

My beautifully gifted and talented student, Vanessa.

She only reinforces why I love my job... cause I CAN make a difference!

This is where sweat, muscle... and dreams are made.

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, September 19

1. Today was my day off but I was working on overload with things to do, people to see, places to go, and a million and one things to prepare for my trip to Busan on Friday.

2. Did some banking today and had the pleasure of meeting the new KB bank manager who, surprisingly enough, knows a bit of English. He ended up filling out my bank forms for me… gotta love the Korean service!!!

3. I’m in love… totally! The love of my life stands about a foot tall, has brown skin and looks very cute. No, the love of my life isn’t anyone but a new pair of boots!... hehehe.

4. The dude at the shoe store I am notoriously known to go eye shopping at, always tries to hit on me and so today I milked it for all it was worth… he insisted I give him my number. I should have given him Mi Nam’s vet’s number, like I usually give out, but I figured it’d kill my chances at any future dealings at his store and so I played the “cute girl” part, pretended to blush and then left. Scored $10CDN off… sweet!

5. I had dreaded today all week. Today I was supposed to go back to the hospital for my results from last week’s testing. I didn’t go. Say what you want to say but honestly, I don’t care about the results… not right now at least. Last week I desperately tried to call my parents to tell them about the whole ordeal but then when Junior Mint told me he had arranged a fight for me, I decided to drop the whole thing. I really want to fight… I’ve always wanted to fight and well, now that it’s about 2 weeks away, I’m not willing to give that dream up.

6. She Ann is full-fledge pregnant and so today I thought I better go get my hair done before she pops out her baby and takes a couple of months off work… hehehe. With the exception of the one chick who I was a retard in letting her perm my hair this past summer, I haven’t let anyone else touch my hair since I met She Ann. She’s been my trusted hair stylist for well over a year now.

7. Got my hair dyed. It’s SUPPOSED to be dark brown but it’s almost black… and I love it! She Ann called it extra rich dark chocolate… hehehe. Mind ya, tomorrow at work I figure no one will notice it, after all, I change my hair so often that no sooner does someone take notice but I've already changed it again... hehehe. That's my style... my hair is like a hobby to me.

8. Met up with one of my former Eumbong Middle School students, Vanessa. She’ll be going to America in January as an exchanged student. I had written a letter of recommendation for her and so tonight we met up for supper. It was so great to see her again. We talked about so much… school, teachers, guys, friends, students, etc., etc. She told me all about how everyone at Eumbong misses me and how my student Ryan especially misses me. I miss them all too… especially Ryan. I really should visit them more and it’s not that I’m too busy cause I’m not, it’s just it’s so hard saying bye to them. I love visiting but saying good-bye never seems to get any easier and it always feels like the last day of school every time I go.

9. Headed off to boxing late today and Junior Mint got me back by drilling me extra hard in the ring…. Ouch! He’s got me so pumped about October 5th… I sleep, eat, breath October 5th!!!

10. After training Junior Mint ordered in chicken and so Junior Mint, Milk Dud and I sat around chowing own on chicken. Total time in gym today = 4 hours. 1 & 1/2 hours at weight training, 1 & 1/2 hours at boxing training, and 1 hour eating chicken at the boxing club.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's the point of knowing something you can't do anything about?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
-- Theodore Roosevelt

Warning: This video may put you to sleep so please refrain from operating any heavy machinery while watching... hehehe.

Us cute girls sat in the park trying to escape boredom.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 18

1. I’ve never been an artsy person but I do enjoy the arts, especially when it’s sitting in my class… hehehe. Wow. I am convinced the most beautiful student is in my Tuesday 1:20pm class and he officially goes by the name of “Beautiful P” among my coworkers. The way I look at it I have no intentions of anything beyond enjoying the site of one of God’s great master pieces and so it’s all good. Hehehe….

2. Because of Chusok next week, I only work 2 days next week... sweet! It’s all good. This Chusok holiday I’ll be down south in Busan visiting Seo. Today I got my KTX ticket and so it’s official… I’m outta here on Friday!!!

3. Some of my students approached me today to say they saw me on TV... cool. (Sunday boxing on ESPN and MBC)

4. My Tuesday and Friday classes are way up on the fifth floor in a classroom tucket in the far corner. At first I cringed at the thought of trekking it all the way up there and the fact that it’s got ghetto chalkboards as oppose to the nice white boards every other room has. But, this room is definitely growing on me.

5. My training has gone into full gear… hardcore. Usually I box in the morning, weight train at night, and eat chicken all day. This means I’m at the gym about 2 1/2 - 3 hours a day, 5 days a week… ouch. Today I woke up late and so I hit the gym late. I went at 10pm. Mr. Stress Man from the boxing party was there… oh gosh. Junior Mint thought it was funny that I eagerly tried to ignore him but that dude seriously stresses me out. I know, I know… being a foreigner means having to deal with numerous random people trying to speak English to me but you know what, I can’t stand it sometimes.

6. I don’t go to the boxing gym to make friends. I don’t want to have friends there cause I don’t want it to become a kind of hang-out. I take my boxing very serious and I want it to stay that way. Tonight Milk Dud tried to convince me to give some girl my phone number, so we can be friends. She wasn’t so eager to be my friend but Milk Dud thought it was a good idea. I gave her Mi Nam’s vet’s number. Don’t ask me why I’ve memorized it but I did… hehehe.

7. Met up with Hannah and then the two of us met up with Bond Soon and Jae Min. Jae Min had started the “party” long before us and so he wasn’t doing too good. Now I like Jae Min, I really do. He’s the first Korean friend I made in Korea and so as retarded as he may get sometimes, I am reminded of the fact that he’s been good to me. He’s always been a friend to me.

8. Tonight I wasn’t such a good friend to him. Somewhere along the way he picked up various English swear words and so tonight he thought it funny to practice them… on ME! I wasn’t impressed. It was funny at first cause he screwed up the pronunciation but I don’t deal well with people swearing at me. I think it’s flat out rude. Anyway, I ended up getting mad at him and telling him off in Korean. I tried to explain to him that there were three women here at the table and so he should watch his tongue; be a gentleman. Finally I got up to leave. I threw down some money but then he grabbed my wrist. I was fuming by then cause he thought it was funny. I told him I’d count to 5 and if he didn’t let go of me I’d punch him. At 4 he let go and by 5 I was out the door.

9. Jae Min killed my phone battery by phoning me but I was in no mood to talk to him. I just didn't want to argue tonight. It's been a long week and my body is so sore from training. I texted him, telling him to call me tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll be ok but tonight I wasn’t.

10. Hannah and I went off to recover the rest of the night. We headed off to Khan and later on Hannah’s new boyfriend met up with us. He was this super skinny tall dude… very cute but really not my style at all. The guy has absolutely NO butt!!! I’m still curious as to how that’s physically possible… hehehe.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What are you doing for Chusok?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Strong reasons make strong actions.
-- William Shakespeare

My favorite outfit: my boxing gloves and boots.

Unfortunately on Mondays I'm too busy to get to wear them :(

I bought these gloves back when I lived in Canada and I remember the day the arrived in the mail from the States. I was so excited that for weeks I went to bed with them beside me... like a teddy bear... hehehe.

Highlights of my Day... Monday, September 17

1. I am officially the Scrooge of Mondays… I can’t stand Mondays. In addition to having three 2 hour long classes and then two hours of language exchange, Mondays leave me exhausted and with just enough energy to hit the weights. No boxing on today :(

2. I have officially given my worst lecture yet… oh gosh. I was totally prepared for class with a list of activities and what not in my head but my sports students (first period of the day) seemed half dead. Their energy level was in the minus numbers and so I ended up answering my own questions… isn’t that the first sign of insanity?!

3. The other day I got a phone call from one of my former students at Eumbong Middle School, Vanessa. She had competed and won a scholarship to go study in America and so in addition to asking me where exactly she should go, she also asked me to write a letter of recommendation.

4. I feel so adult-like now… writing a letter of recommendation, cool! Milk Dud and most of my friends are convinced I’m a 15 year old girl stuck in a 27 year old’s body… they’re probably right too… hehehe. But writing this letter, wow… I feel so honoured. I mean, out of all the people she could have got to written it on her behalf, she asked me. Cool… very cool.

5. This Friday I’m going to Busan and so I’ve been stressing over what to do with Mi Nam. My options were as follows… a. leave him at the pet care shop, or b. find someone to take care of him. I contemplated option a cause it was super easy but I ruled it out cause I fear it’ll spook Mi Nam and really stress him out. So I am going for option b.

6. One problem… WHO could I trust and ask to look after him. I mean, I do have lots of friends but I’m very picky with who I let in my house… even more picky when it comes to them coming in my house when I’m not here! So, I decided to ask Milk Dud to look after him… hehehe. At first he was hesitant but I bribed him by telling him I'd give him some food and that was what signed the deal.. hehehe. He's just like Mi Nam... lead by his stomach. Mi Nam isn’t much of a social boy but he really does like Milk Dud and Milk Dud has kind of stepped up as an adopted dad. They’ve definitely bonded… hehehe.

7. After 5 months of purposely ignoring each other and trying to accept that we’re no longer friends, Kim Tae (no longer to be referred to as Drama Boy) and I met up. Honestly I was so nervous to see him. I came down the elevator and there he was. The first thing that came out of his mouth was, “Wow, you seem so much prettier than before”, and with that I blushed, hid my face and then gave him a good slap across the shoulder. He and I were never a couple but it really felt like we were high school sweethearts reuniting after years of being away from each other. He seemed so much taller and more confident. Turns out his confidence comes from the fact that he now has a girlfriend.

8. I was kind of weird hearing that he had a girlfriend. Apparently she knows all about me… and hates me too, that I’m sure of. Great.

9. I was really happy to see Kim Tae again. I did really miss him a lot and so I think it’s super cool that I have Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk again. Having said this though, I really wanted to say a lot to Kim Tae but I didn’t know how to say it. I figured I’d just stay quiet but then I broke down when he said he was sad he lost two good friends, me and Pretty Boy. At that point I spilled my beans and told him that he never lost two friends. Pretty Boy never cared about Kim Tae and I know this because of how he use to get so mad at me whenever I mentioned Kim Tae’s name. I remember once I cried and he even went so far as to laugh at me and call me stupid for caring so much about petty people. Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk were never petty people to me.

10. Looking back at the situation, it’s easy now to see where I went wrong… we all went wrong, but Kim Tae hit the nail on the head when he said, “Past is past”. Wow… Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk are back… I love those dudes!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How far would you go for a friend?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
There is no remedy for love but to love more.
--Henry David Thoreau

I love Korean boxing!!!

I felt like a celebrity today when every where I turned this dude kept on pushing his camera into my face... oh the joys of being one of the only foreigners... hehehe

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 16

1. Woke up nice and early, jumped in a cab with Milk Dud and then headed to the train station to meet up with others from UP Boxing. Today we were all going to Seoul to watch Min Young’s fight. It was my first live boxing match and so I was super pumped. While others slept on the train, I sat there eagerly anticipating what today would bring. I was way too hyper for the morning… hehehe.

2. Finally we arrived in Seoul and made our way to where the match was. It was being held at the Hilton and so when we arrived, the place was swarming with boxers, coaches, camera crews and lots of other people.

3. Ever since I’ve started training with Junior Mint, he’s really taken me under his wing and has really mentored me. Actually, I guess “molding” would be a more appropriate term… and I love it. Today he kept me close by his side and really encouraged me to experience all I could today and so I did exactly that. It was so awesome.

4. The featured fight of the day was between Kim Eun Young (Korean) and Terry (American). Considering the place was swarming with a few hundred Koreans, four Americans (Terry and her team) and one Canadian (me), I ended up getting quite a lot of attention from the MBC camera crew who initially thought I was there to cheer on Terry… hehehe. And so to avoid any confusion, I made myself one of the loudest cheerers for Eun Young… hehehe.

5. While Milk Dud and I watched from the side, I realized something, crowd goers don’t seem to heckle or boo… hmmm. I tried to tempt Milk Dud with $50 to yell out, “Kill the American” (just as a joke… relax) but he wouldn’t go for it.

6. Finally the moment arrived. It was time for Min Young to fight. As she walked by me I put my hand on her shoulder and told her, “think kill”… hehehe. It’s kind of an inside joke we got going on. You see, at training it’s very easy to get distracted, become relaxed and lose focus, but when you get yourself angry in the ring, it’s like your senses become alert, you throw more punches and your hits become harder. So now, “think kill” is kind of like my new motto for boxing.

7. We all eagerly watched Min Young fight. It was so awesome and I felt like I was right in the ring myself. I was yelling out combos for her to throw, screaming out her name, and punching my fists together everytime she threw a good punch. However, she lost the fight. We all felt so sad. I mean this was her fighting but it was kind of all our fight. The thing that really got to me though was when she sat down and tried to fight back her tears. She only cried for about a minute or two but it really got to me. I mean, it was awesome to see how passionate she was about boxing.

8. It had been a long day, full of yelling and jumping, laughing, cheering, and about 6 hours of hardcore boxing. I learned the phrase “koo pee”, which means “bloody nose”. It seemed like every fight ended in a bloody nose.. it was great! I mean, such intensity and brutal force. I wasn’t so much interested in the dudes fighting as I was with the girls. I ended up talking to this one young female boxer and as a result, they filmed me for her documentary… cool. Later on, I ended up leaving my cellphone in the hotel bathroom. I realized this as I was halfway down the escalator and so, instead of simply taking the up escalator up two floors, I decided to sprint it up both down escalators in stelleto heels. Not only did I end up getting my cellphone back but my picture is now on numerous cellphones in Korea (people watching took pictures of me… oh gosh).

9. Someone had the not-so-bright idea for us to take the subway all the way back to Cheonan… 2 hours later we arrived. I was ready to go home and crash but no such luck… we all went out to eat.

10. As if today wasn't great enough, today Junior Mint told me that he's arranged a fight for me. The deal is, right now I'm listed as an amateur boxer, but on October 5th the Boxing Association in Korea is going to test me. I will have to fight and if I win, I will be granted PROFESSIONAL BOXER status!!!! As you can imagine, I'm totally stoked about this... this is so awesome! Becoming a professional boxer will mean harder fights, paid fights, and no head gear. Wicked!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How come Westerners heckle but Koreans don't?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Don't wish me luck-- I don't believe in luck. I believe in myself.
-- Me

For those of you who understand Korean, I apologize for some of the language... you know how it is ... foreigner + foreign slang = super funny ;)

Needless to say he was bored and so he was quite happy when we rescued him from his boredom with a bag full of goodies.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 15

1. According to various Korean friends of mine, apparently seeing a dead person in your dream is good luck. I take it’s good luck for me and not for the other person… anyways, well, I must be REALLY lucky because I woke up from a dream this morning in which I saw two dead people.

2. Usually five minutes after I wake up, I forget my dream and so I’ve created a dream book in which I write down all my dreams in. Five out of seven nights, on average, I dream. They say dreams reveal things to you but I dream some pretty weird dreams which makes me wonder about my father. I remember when I was younger, he use to always dream about not being able to find the bathroom… hehehe.

3. Discovered a sweet way of surviving the chicken craze I’ve been on… soup mixes!!!

4. Trained legs today and walked out of Hongik looking like I just rode an obese horse… hehehe. I love it!

5. Got a text message from Kim Tae today… wow, so he IS alive!!! He said he wanted to meet up and so we agreed on Sunday (tomorrow) at 10pm. So much has happened between us… wow. I have so much to say, so much to ask,… I’m excited and yet so nervous at the same time. I do miss him but have such mixed feelings about the whole situation.

6. Spent a good couple of hours typing in all the Korean names, English nicknames and emails of my students…. Oh gosh. And then, if that didn’t already take up way too much of my evening, I then had to write a massive email to them all with their homework answers and a PowerPoint file with lecture notes. BUT… I really am not complaining. I do love my job and I think it’s super cool to see when their interest in learning is sparked. I have absolutely NO regrets with coming to Korea to teach… it’s probably the best decision I ever made so far to date.

7. Gotta love the good, the bad and the ugly English names some of my students come up with. Last year a so-called David Beckham was in my class, this year I’ve got Pink (the singer), Rudolph (the Red Nosed Reindeer), and Brad Pitt. And if that wasn’t funny enough, in one class I have part of the galaxy – Sun, Moon, Star, and Venus. Hehehe… what ever happened to names like Jessica and Michael?!

8. So I did it, I said good-bye to the Yanky and I’m convinced he could care less. Cool.

9. Packed up a bag full of goodies and headed off with Milk Dud to go see Bean in the hospital. He had one his last motor cross race but in doing so, discovered that he had further complicated an already injured shoulder. He had surgery on it and so he’s been sitting around the hospital super bored.

10. Leave it to Bean –- our funny little jumping bean --- to be stuck in the hospital and yet still sporting a super huge smile. Originally he had been placed in a room beside a dying old man who just laid there while his lips bled… nasty! Thankfully he’s been moved. His new hospital roommate was this big pudgy dude who was totally loving the fact that I was speaking Korean. A while ago when Bean and Milk Dude took me to LotteWorld, they had taught me some bad slang. Tonight I pulled out all my slang.. and the pudgy dude LOVED it. We had him laughing so hard that at one point he started to choke… hehehe.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Where in the world is Waldo?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
To be alone is to be different, to be different is to be alone.
-- Suzanne Gordon